The Taking of Pelham 123

Having never seen the original The Taking of Pelham 123 I came to the remake without preconceptions and only a cursory awareness of the story.

Denzel Washington is the train controller on the New York subway system who finds himself a reluctant negotiator with John Travolta who takes control of the 1.23pm train out Pelham in The Taking of Pelham 123.

On the face of it there wouldn't seem much scope for action in a situation where the controller is sitting at a console in an office and the 'trainjacker' is miles away surrounded underground in the driver's cabin of a train but Hollywood is pretty inventive and the film manages two hours of sometimes dizzying viewing.

Clearly the remake updates the original with devices that would not have existed when the first film was made. There are lots of mini plot devices that go unresolved or unexplained; perhaps as red herrings.

Although logic takes a holiday in this plot, the film is a reasonably entertaining.